5 policemen injured in Egypt blast

At least five policemen were injured Tuesday in a blast at Egypt's Mostorod checkpoint near the capital Cairo, official news agency MENA reported.

The blast was caused by an explosive device thrown by unknown assailants on Tuesday evening at the checkpoint on a bridge in Qalioubiya province.

Local media said eight people were injured, including seven policemen and a citizen, who were all sent to nearby hospitals.

Shortly after the attack, police defused a number of explosive devices in several provinces like Cairo, Alexandria and Fayoum and no casualties were reported.

On Sunday, at least 18 people were killed and many more injured in clashes between the police and protesters marking the fourth anniversary of the 2011 revolution that toppled long-time ex-president Hosni Mubarak.

The protesters were mostly supporters of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted in July 2013 by the military after mass protests and was replaced with then army chief and now President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.

Since Morsi's ouster, clashes between his loyalists and the government have left more than 1,000 killed and thousands more arrested. The Muslim Brotherhood group, from which Morsi hailed, was blacklisted by the new leadership as "a terrorist organization." It has dwindled due to security campaigns, but stages regular anti-Sisi protests denouncing Morsi's ouster as "a coup".

Meanwhile, attacks targeting security forces have left hundreds killed and most of them were claimed by Sinai-based al-Qaida-inspired Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group affiliated with the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. Endi